Kansas guard Devon Dotson (11) dips under /w23 for a bucket during the first half of an exhibition, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018 at Allen Fieldhouse.

As he left the Bankers Life Fieldhouse locker room for the last time on Tuesday night, Kansas freshman Devon Dotson walked with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face.

Thrilled to have overcome some understandable pregame butterflies to help lead No. 1 Kansas to a 92-87 victory over No. 10 Michigan State in his first college game, Dotson talked with reporters in the hall about all of the elements of the Kansas victory.

And to every dose of positivity and praise that Dotson heaped on his new teammates he quickly added one simple disclaimer — “we can definitely improve.”

Over and over, about himself and his team, Dotson uttered the subtle reminder that, as good as he and top-ranked Kansas looked at times in the win over Michigan State, there was still plenty of work to do and so much room to grow.

With tough games against big time opponents dotting the schedule throughout November and December, Kansas might have to do some of its growth in some more tough environments like the one it saw on Tuesday in Indianapolis. But Dotson, as much as anyone on the roster, seems superbly suited for that reality.

Consider exactly what the freshman point guard did in his first 33 minutes as a Jayhawk. And forget about the 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting — 3 of 5 from 3-point range — because I’m not sure that his point production is even in the top 3 reasons Dotson is so valuable for this Kansas team.

Defense is. And he played a mean brand of it on Tuesday night.

Michigan State guard Cassius Winston, a junior who definitely has breakout potential — and also had Dotson in his face all night — coughed it up five times and shot just 3 of 10 from the floor.

Not all of that was Dotson’s doing. But he and his three steals and insanely quick feet and hands were responsible for a huge portion of Winston’s problems, and that kept the MSU guard and the Spartans’ offense from looking comfortable for much of the night.

But it wasn’t just the fact that Dotson enjoyed digging in and harassing Winston that made his defense a problem. It was how quickly he turned that defense into offense, pushing the pace after steals and running right down the throat of the Michigan State defense whenever possible.

Kansas coach Bill Self talked after the game about a conversation he had with Dotson about being an extension of the coaching staff on the floor. And don’t doubt for a second that if Self’s 55-year-old body could still get out there, he would want to play exactly the way Dotson did throughout his Kansas debut — tough, tenacious, unrelenting and with a smile.

“I mean, that’s what he said, to put pressure on the defense,” Dotson said matter-of-factly after the victory. “And that’s what I like to do.”

Dotson shot the ball better than most people probably expected on Tuesday night, particularly from the outside. Dotson himself was not surprised he had his jumper working, — “because of the amount of work I’ve put in on my shot” — but it’s already clear that his biggest strength is finishing at the rim.

He already has flashed that drive hard, slide-by-a-defender, underhand scoop shot off the glass while falling down a bunch this season and seems to have perfected it.

He’ll deliver plenty more of those as the season rolls on, but it’s his defense that could be the most valuable weapon for this Kansas team.

Think about it. If Dotson can do, in his first ever game, what he did Tuesday night to one of the better and more experienced guards in the country, imagine what he can do to players he’ll face who aren’t quite as talented and experienced as Winston after he gets a few more games under his belt and those nerves slowly start to morph into more confidence.

Dotson is a worthy heir to the Devonte’ Graham, Frank Mason III stranglehold on the point guard position at Kansas. And he’s already started to show why Self said this preseason that he believed the freshman point guard could wind up being “a great one.”

“This was a huge game, great atmosphere, it was a great first game,” Dotson said after the win. “And I was happy to be a part of it.”